Hello

Today we are going to Muse about a number of things. If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

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The year is drawing to a close

It is Christmas. The town has a civic tree, sculpted of sand. Florida is tropical down here, you know.

Merry Christmas

We have ours too. Not quite so grand.

Our Tree

And we have Christmas Angels and Saint Nick.

christmas-angels

Saint Nick

Trump

We are adjusting to new realities in addition to celebrating the holiday. We live in Trump Land. Mar A Lago is only about a mile from our house, just across the intracoastal waterway.

Mar A Lago

To go onto Palm Beach using the southern bridge we pass directly by the landmark residence. There is security everywhere, boats in the intracoastal waterway, sheriff deputies a plenty, security towers and of course, secret service.

Approaching Mar A Lago

Ahead on the left is a security tower below which is a sheriff’s vehicle and a deputy standing in the road. What you cannot see is behind the tree in front of the car. That is a round- about and on the side there are three deputies and behind are two sheriff vehicles with personnel. And as you go past it continues for another half a mile.

So that is our excitement now.

Croquet

Other than this we seem to have been doing a lot of croquet.

We had Halloween croquet.

Halloween Croquet

And Silly Croquet, played under the lights

Silly Croquet

And we participated in the United States Croquet Association Hall of Fame Gala. This is a function in which individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport over the years are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Members wear the red jacket.

Hall of Fame Gala

And we have played in a couple of small tournaments. More are in the queue. That pretty much sums up the last month or so.

A GOOD FRIEND JUST SENT ME THIS……

Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers..

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, When 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full?

The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the space between the sand.

The students laughed!

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things— your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions — and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job , your house and your car..

The sand is everything else—the small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children.

Spend time with your parents.

Visit with grandparents.

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another round of croquet.

There will always be time to clean the house, fix the disposal or deal with things from your job.

Take care of the golf balls first—the things that really matter.

Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’

The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend.

Please share this with someone you care about.

I JUST DID!

Happy New Year.

Our best wishes to you for prosperity and good health in the year to come.

More to come

Fine Art America, a Pixel.com company

Pixel.com is producing reproductions of my artwork. The work is available as traditional prints on canvas, paper or metal, but it also available on greeting cards, phone covers, tote bags, shower curtains, t-shirts and more. It makes for some very personalized gifts. Below is the link to the site. When you click on an image in the site, a menu of products will appear. I hope you like it.